


Catch a Break

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [15]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Bestest Cousins, Chlollie actually talking about things, F/M, Like actual adults, Lois is a Chlollie shipper, Protective Chloe Sullivan, Protective Lois Lane, Protective Oliver Queen, Shovel talks, Sort Of, Vacation, Wine, double dates, hangovers, they've come so far
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:35:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver plan a surprise, but things might not go exactly as they hoped.
Relationships: Lois Lane & Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane/Richard White, Oliver Queen & Lois Lane, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Crowne Plaza Hotel Nairobi, Kenya - March 2, 2011**

Chloe peeked out of the window of the hotel and raised her eyebrows a little, "from what Lois said, I didn't expect a hotel this nice," she told him, glancing over her shoulder and smiling at him, "of course, I wouldn't expect you to pick anything but the best hotel you could find." She teased softly.

This was their first recreational trip since the McDougal Inn, over a year ago, but since everything happened with AC and then Maxwell Lord messing with Ollie's mind, they needed a break and Chloe knew they were not going to get one in the Watchtower, so she suggested this. It wasn't exactly a romantic getaway, but it was familiar enough for both of them, having Lois around, and it was far enough from the Star City headquarters that they wouldn't be around work, even though they would always be available if the others needed to contact them for anything.

Besides, Lois seemed to be getting pretty serious about this Richard, serious for Lois, anyway, so Chloe had to meet him before her cousin got herself into trouble.

Oliver looked over at her and smirked. "Would you prefer a tent in the jungle?" he teased, raising an eyebrow. "You know, get the full African safari experience?"

"I'd rather not become a lion snack, thanks," she teased back, moving away from the window and over to where he was.

He flashed her a grin. "I'd rather you not, either," he told her.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek before walking over to the suitcase, "I'm guessing Lois will be leaving work soon, so we can just come by and surprise her."

He nodded slightly, looking out the window again and then closing his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, I think surprise will be a good word for it."

Chloe cocked her head and looked at him for a moment, "are you okay?"

Oliver turned to look at her. "Yeah, I'm good. A little jet lagged," he told her, figuring it was at least partially true.

She kept her eyes on him and raised her eyebrows a little.

"I'm all right, Chloe. Just tired." His voice was soft and he offered her a small smile.

"Do you want to stay here while I go see Lois?" She asked quietly, walking over to him once more, even if she didn't want to leave him alone, she didn't want him to have to be out if he didn't feel like it.

"No, I wanna come along just to see the look on her face," he said with faint amusement. He also didn't want to let her out of his sight, but he wasn't about to say _that_.

After watching him for a moment longer, Chloe nodded a little, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently, he had been a little more distant than usual for the past week and while she knew he was probably freaked out because of the dreams Maxwell had made him dream, she still wished he'd tell her that was the reason. "as long as you're sure."

"Wouldn't miss it for anything." He squeezed her hand in return. "I'm gonna take a quick shower first." He met her eyes, then kissed her forehead tenderly before heading toward the bathroom.

"Take your time," she called after him, watching him until he disappeared into the bathroom then sighing softly as she turned to her suitcase.

Oliver stripped down and climbed into the shower, turning the water so it was on full blast and cold. Maybe the chill would help shake the lingering images from his brain.

While he showered, she changed into lighter clothes, the high of summer was already over in the southern hemisphere but it was still pretty warm, so she changed into a sundress and sandals, stopping herself more than a handful of times from pulling out her laptop and checking on things. She didn't want to think about work so she wouldn't bring it up to Oliver. The whole point of this trip was to try and get him to relax.

He finished his shower after a few moments and headed back into the main room with the towel wrapped around his waist. He paused when he caught sight of her, and a soft smile touched his lips. "You look beautiful."

She looked up from her purse, where she was searching for her phone and raised her eyebrows a little, no matter how many times she'd seen him naked, seeing him like that, wrapped in a towel and still wet from the shower smiling at her like he was now, it would always get a reaction out of her, "so do you," she teased, smiling softly back at him.

His smile shifted into one of amusement and he raised an eyebrow back at her. "Well, I'm very glad that you think so."

"Dangerously good," she told him, "you better put on clothes soon before I can't stop myself."

At that, his other eyebrow raised. "I don't know. I kind of like when you can't stop yourself," he murmured.

Chloe paused and smirked slowly at him, turning fully to face him and placing a hand on her hip as she pretended to consider it, "well, I suppose Lois isn't _waiting_ for us or anything."

Oliver met her eyes, a smirk spreading across his face as he moved toward her silently, with purposeful steps.

She bit down on her bottom lip and grinned at him, stepping closer and shaking her head, "maybe you should just lay down and I can do all the work, since you're so tired," she teased.

He grinned at her in return. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea," he murmured against her ear, kissing her there lightly. "Besides, I know how much you like to be in control," he teased.

"Likewise, Mr. Queen," she grinned, shivering a little and turning her head to nibble at his jaw as she reached for his towel.

Oliver's grin simply widened as the towel dropped soundlessly to the floor.

* * *

**Nairobi, Kenya - March 2, 2011**

A couple hours later and after another shower for two, Chloe and Oliver finally made their way out of their hotel, "I guess we should just go to her apartment at this point and hope she's not entertaining her new boyfriend there."

Oliver chuckled at the suggestion. "If she's _not_ there yet, we can always really surprise her and be sitting inside when she gets in."

"Or give her a heart attack, either one," she grinned, tugging on his hand a little as she stepped closer to him while they walked.

"Nah. She'll be glad to see us." He kissed her temple.

Chloe nodded a little, squeezing his hand and leaning into him, "I know and I can't wait to meet this Richard guy."

"He's Perry White's nephew, right?"

"Yeah, and I did some stalking and at least from his articles, he's a pretty good writer," she told him, "but after everything Lois went through with Clark, I just want to make sure he's a nice guy."

At the mention of Clark, his grip on her hand tightened just a fraction--barely enough to be noticable. "Here's hoping," he said quietly.

She squeezed his hand and lifted her free hand to rub his arm a little, unconsciously, "yeah, I don't want him to show up again and expect her to have waited for him."

Oliver was quiet for a moment and he looked down at her. "What about you?" he asked softly.

"What about me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

He drew in a breath and paused in his steps, turning to face her. "What _will_ happen when Clark shows up again?" he asked softly, uncertain. Because it was going to happen; it was just a matter of _when_.

"Ollie," Chloe shook her head a little, looking up at him, "I know it's a mistake I've made more than once before, but it won't happen again. I promise you." She took his other hand in hers too, "I belong with you and the team and while I won't deny Clark help if he needs it, I'm clearly not a part of his life anymore."

He gazed at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I'm not trying to keep reminding you of bad stuff," he whispered, lifting his free hand to her cheek. "I just..."

"It's okay, Ollie," she took a deep breath, watching him closely, "I don't mind talking about it."

"I'm scared of losing you," he admitted almost inaudibly.

At his words, her chest tightened and her face fell. She couldn't blame anyone but herself for that, for his fear that she would just up and leave him, or turn her back on him once Clark showed up again. Even if he was bringing it up now because of the dream, she knew his fear wasn't unfounded, "I'm not leaving you," she promised quietly, lifting her hand to his side, "one of the reasons why I chose to stay in Metropolis was because I was so scared by how I felt about you and now that it's all out in the open, I have no reason to run from you."

Oliver's chest tightened at the look on her face. He stepped in and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's not just about Clark," he confessed, closing his eyes. "But we can talk about it later. We need to see Lois."

Chloe wrapped her arms around him too and frowned but let out a breath, she didn't want to do this in the middle of the street, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to set things straight between them and make him more secure about _them_ , "why don't we just go back upstairs? Lois doesn't know we're here, it can wait until tomorrow, I want us to talk about this."

"We will," he said quietly. His heart was beating a little more quickly in his chest. "Just...later."

"Promise?" She asked quietly, turning her head up to look at him, "when we get back?"

"Cross my heart," he whispered, meeting her eyes.

She tried for a small smile and nodded, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips then nodding, "lets go, then."

"Everything's fine, Chloe." He lifted a hand to her cheek.

"Okay," she leaned into his touch and reached for his other hand again, "as long as you think so."

He nodded slightly, taking her hand once more in his. "Let's go surprise your cousin."

Chloe squeezed his hand and hugged his arm, walking closer to him as they started in the direction of Lois' apartment again, "should be on the next left."

Oliver smiled faintly and kept step with her as she guided them toward the apartment building. Lois was in for one heck of a surprise.

Moments later, they stood outside the apartment, Chloe was a little worried by the fact that they didn't actually have to get buzzed in, so she was going to have to make sure to set up surveillance in the building before they left the country, just in case. She glanced at Oliver and smiled a little before turning to the door and knocking.

He smiled a little, too, knowing exactly what she was thinking about without even asking. He rested a hand at the small of her back as they waited to see if Lois was back from work yet. He bit back a grin as he heard footsteps moving around the apartment.

"Just a minute! I just got out of the shower! You're really early, by the way!" Lois shouted through the door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

She froze, staring at them, mouth gaping.

Chloe grinned and raised her eyebrows at her cousin, "huh, you didn't open the door in a towel, I guess I can give you points for making him think you're respectable and at the same time, give him a mental image to toy with as he waits for you to come to the door, good job, Lo."

" _Chloe_." In a split second, Lois' arms were wrapped tightly around her cousin.

Smiling brightly, Chloe wrapped her arms around her cousin just as tightly, closing her eyes, "you're not the only one who gets to plan a surprise."

She grinned, pulling back after a moment. "Come in." She grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her inside, waving a little at Oliver.

Oliver smiled back, and followed them inside, shutting the door behind them.

Chloe glanced over at Oliver and smiled at him as Lois dragged her further into the apartment, "I assume you are waiting for your date?"

"Not for another three hours," Lois informed her with a smirk. "And now not at all, which is fine, because I didn't really want to go out tonight anyway."

Raising her eyebrows, Chloe shook her head, "you're letting him come over, I need to analyze this man."

"Tomorrow," Lois responded. "Tonight, it's a girl's night and..." She paused looking at Oliver, frowning just a little and looking back at Chloe. Then back at Oliver. Her eyes lit up. "You're back together!"

Chloe blinked, raising her eyebrows, her eyes widening a little as she looked from her cousin, to Oliver and back again, "what?"

Lois beamed. "You're _glowing_. I don't know how I missed it the second I laid eyes on you."

Pursing her lips together, Chloe looked over at Oliver. It might be the fact that they'd just had sex a couple of times, but she wasn't going to tell Lois that, "well, we're not really back together..."

Oliver grew still at that, holding his breath.

"Uh huh." Lois arched an eyebrow. "Your after-sex glow says otherwise." She smirked.

"No," Chloe shook her head, smiling softly, "we're not _back_ together, we're actually doing things right this time around." She said quietly, glancing over at Oliver.

He relaxed at that and smiled faintly at Chloe in response, nodding slightly at Lois.

"Well, _finally_. I'm not sure who to congratulate first." She grinned and hugged Chloe again. She looked at Oliver. "But seriously? Break her heart and I'll have to kill you."

Chloe grinned and hugged her cousin back, "and this is me, giving you permission to kick my ass if I ever try to run away from him again."

"Oh, I will. Your warning was next." Lois smiled. "Well, this calls for a celebration." She let go of Chloe and rose to her feet once more. "I don't have champagne, but wine will work!"

"Good thing our hotel is within walking distance," she teased, smiling at Ollie and patting the couch on the opposite side of where Lois was sitting moments ago.

Oliver chuckled softly and moved over to sit down beside her. "Good point."

Chloe smiled over at Lois then patted Ollie's leg gently, "I'm surprised you have as much furniture as you do, Lo, impressed, actually."

He draped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

"Well, you can thank your boyfriend for some of it, including the air conditioning that now actually works." She carried three glasses of red wine into the living room.

Raising her eyebrows at Lois for a moment Chloe cocked her head then looked over at Oliver, "really?"

He shrugged a little. "She mentioned over Christmas that it didn't work," he explained. "What good is being a billionaire if you can't help your friends out?"

Chloe smiled at him and shook her head, squeezing his knee a little before looking back at her cousin, "well I hope you thanked him properly."

"I said thank you?" Lois smiled brightly, handing them each a glass of wine.

She took the glass and gave her cousin a knowing smile, "and how are things going here? You never tell me much."

"They're fine. Mostly, I work." She took a sip of the wine and raised an eyebrow.

"Mostly," Oliver teased, grinning as he took a drink.

Chloe smirked a little, "and when you're not working?"

Lois smirked back at her and simply raised an eyebrow.

"Good for you," Chloe grinned at her cousin and nodded, leaning back against the couch and sipping on the wine, she was glad to see that Lois seemed to be doing well, "now back to when we get to meet him."

"Tomorrow. I want you all to myself tonight. I'm selfish that way." She grinned and sat down on the other side of Chloe, curling a leg beneath her.

Oliver pressed a kiss to Chloe's temple again and finished off his glass of wine. "In that case, I'll make myself scarce so the two of you can catch up." He winked.

Chloe frowned and shook her head, "you're not going anywhere." She wanted to spend some time with her cousin too, but she wasn't about to let Oliver go back alone and stay by himself, "you can play Lois' X-box and we can go into the next room."

He smirked at that. "So bossy," he teased gently.

"I also have Wii," Lois informed him.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek then shrugged and smiled at him before turning to her cousin again. "Didn't you have the archery game on it?" Chloe asked with a grin.

Lois grinned. "I do. Let's see if the Green Arrow can beat my score." She smirked at him.

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Oh, now it's on, Lane."

Chloe laughed a little and smirked, looking between the two of them, "I will be the completely impartial judge, then."

"You are _completely_ on _my_ side," Lois informed her with a smirk.

"Don't be so sure," Oliver responded, raising an eyebrow at Lois.

"I'll need a lot more wine for this," Chloe told Lois, raising her eyebrows and smirking.

"I'll keep it coming." Lois grinned.

"Sounds like a good night," she smiled at her cousin and took another sip of her wine then looked over at Ollie and smiled brightly at him.

Oliver met Chloe's eyes and smiled back, shaking his head in amusement. When it came to the Sullivan-Lane's, he knew not to think _anything_ was out of the question.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lois' apartment, Kenya -- March 3, 2011**

The first thing he became aware of as he woke up was that his neck was killing him. Apparently he'd slept in the most uncomfortable position known to mankind--his head resting back against a chair in Lois' living room while the rest of him remained on the floor. He groaned involuntarily, rubbing a hand over his face.

Chloe wasn't much better positioned, her head was on Ollie's lap, using him as a pillow, but the rest of her was laying on the rug against the floor she shifted and made a face when she turned on her back, her body was completely stiff and she groaned, too.

"Morning," he said gruffly, blowing out a breath.

She shifted and sat up, groaning again when she did and holding her head in her hands. The room was spinning, her head was pounding and her stomach suddenly hated her, "ugh," she mumbled.

He frowned at her reaction. "You all right?" He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder even as he rolled his neck to try and ease some of the stiffness.

"Head hurts," she breathed, rolling her shoulders a little, "too much wine." Even the word made her stomach turn even more.

Oliver grimaced a little at that, shifting behind her and gently rubbing her shoulders. "Want some toast? Sometimes that helps."

Making a face, she shook her head slightly, "no food," she lifted her head and frowned, opening her eyes slowly, "where is Lois?"

He glanced around, and spotted a note on the coffee table. He reached out and picked it up. "Work, apparently," he told her, handing her the short note.

She took the note and nodded a little, taking a deep breath before moving to stand up slowly, "how much _did_ we drink last night?"

"I had two glasses. I thought you only had one, but I was sequestered in the other room," he teased.

Chloe placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself and shook her head, "there was drinking from a bottle at some point. I need coffee."

Oliver grimaced again and slowly rose to his feet. "I'll make some."

She nodded a little and walked over to the kitchen with him, "should probably stop by and bring Lois some too on our way back to the hotel."

"You two have fun last night? Wine aside?" He smiled a bit.

"Yeah," Chloe told him, smiling a little at him and rubbing her temple, "I'm sorry you had to stay here, I didn't plan on actually spending the night."

"It's all right. No big deal," he told her easily, shrugging and moving to the coffee pot on the counter, filling it up and leaning back to wait.

She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently, nodding, "we never made it back to the hotel to talk."

"Ah, right." He watched her for a moment. "Tonight's another night."

"We don't have to wait until tonight, Ollie." She told him quietly, frowning softly.

"Well, we're getting ready to drop coffee off for Lois, right?" He smiled at her, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's not a big deal, Chloe."

Chloe looked at him and the fact that he was trying to brush her off worried her even more, "we've been putting this off for over a week now, Ollie, I'm worried about you."

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, looking down at the floor for a moment. "I know."

She watched him for a moment then pulled two chairs from the small table so they were facing each other, "c'mon," she said quietly, taking his hand. He moved to the table somewhat reluctantly, sitting down across from her silently.

After pulling her chair closer to him, she reached out and took his hands in hers, "what is scaring you so much?"

Oliver was quiet for a moment, and he gazed at their hands before lifting his eyes to meet hers. "I'm having nightmares," he admitted quietly.

Chloe watched him for a moment then nodded slightly, brushing her thumbs against the back of his hands, "what kind of nightmares?"

He shifted in the seat uncomfortably. "About Clark." He paused again. "About Lex."

"What about them?" She asked him quietly, cocking her head, she knew it had to do with Maxwell, but she needed more details than that to help him through it.

"Chloe, how much did...J'onn tell you about what happened?" he asked uncertainly.

"Not much," she admitted, watching him closely, "J'onn said you thought we were dead," she told him quietly.

Oliver's grip tightened on her hand a little. "I keep seeing it. Every time I fall asleep."

"He made you see it happen?" Chloe asked, her stomach tightening.

He nodded wordlessly, keeping his gaze on their hands.

"Ollie," she whispered, shaking her head, "I'm so sorry."

Oliver lifted his other hand tiredly, rubbing his face with it. "But it's just a nightmare. And I know that." 

"But it's still bothering you," she said quietly, "do you wanna tell me about it?"

"No," he said immediately, shaking his head.

"You should talk to someone about it, Ollie... maybe J'onn?" She suggested quietly.

He exhaled slowly. "Maybe," he murmured.

Chloe nodded a little and lifted a hand to cup his cheek, "I know that me telling you this won't help much, but I'm not going anywhere Ollie, and no matter what dreams that man put in your head, Lex isn't going to get to us."

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment, leaning into her touch. "We don't know that for sure," he whispered.

"No," she agreed, "but we will do everything we can to make sure of it, and Maxwell just used your fears against you, and I'm sorry you have vivid images of what he made you believe happened, but I'm right here and Mia is safe in Star City, we're _okay_."

He drew in a breath, nodding. "I know," he said quietly.

She shifted until she was sitting on the very edge of her chair, wanting to be as close to him as she could, "anything I can do?"

He opened his eyes to look at her and held his arms out to her wordlessly.

Her chest tightened slightly and she stood up then moved to sit on his lap and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She had been just as terrified after the explosion at the clocktower, needing to be close to him and make sure he was alive. It wasn't the exact same situation, but it had helped.

Oliver wound his arms around her tightly, burying his face against her neck. "I love you," he whispered, just glad that he could actually say the words out loud now instead of thinking them. 

"I love you too, Ollie," she told him in a whisper, turning her head and kissing his temple, "and I'm not going anywhere," she said quietly, her lips still pressed against his skin.

He closed his eyes, just holding onto her. "I want to get Mia some kind of cool souvenir while we're here," he murmured.

"We can do that," she told him quietly, running her fingers through his hair soothingly, "I'm sure Lois knows where to go."

He nodded against her, relaxing a little beneath her touch. He pressed a kiss against her collarbone and then slowly pulled away to look up at her once more.

She brushed her fingers against his ear then cheek as she looked down at him, "you can wake me up when you have nightmares," she suggested quietly.

"So then neither of us can sleep?" His voice was light.

"So I can distract you from it," she said quietly, leaning her forehead against his.

"Sounds promising," he murmured, closing his eyes once more.

Chloe smiled slightly and let out a breath, pressing a kiss to his nose and rubbing his neck gently.

Oliver kissed her chin lightly, a smile quirking his lips.

She pulled back a little and looked down at him, smiling softly.

"What do you say we take Lois some coffee, and then you and I explore a little?" he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," she smiled a little, "we're supposed to have dinner with Lois and Richard tonight and if you don't mind, can we leave the Safari thing for tomorrow?"

He grinned. "Don't want to risk getting eaten by a lion before you meet Richard and make sure he's good enough for Lois?" he teased, settling a hand at her hip.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and shook her head, "being hungover and riding a jeep while seeing ferocious animals does not sound like fun."

"That too." He placed a kiss against her neck.

She shivered a little and closed her eyes for just a second before opening them again, a little wide.

"Chloe?" His eyebrows furrowed a little at the expression on her face.

Chloe pulled away from his lap and ran to the bathroom as fast as she could, closing the door behind on her way in.

He blinked a few times, then rose to his feet, grimacing.

She took her time in the bathroom, washing her face and using almost the entire bottle of Lois' mouthwash after brushing her teeth using her finger as an improvised toothbrush. She did feel a little more human now, but even though she had gotten drunk with her cousin before, she had never gotten sick the morning after, no matter how badly hungover she'd been. And of course that'd happen in front of Ollie.

Eventually she opened the bathroom door and took a deep breath, "I'm alive."

He moved over to her slowly, a worried frown on his face as he lifted his hand to touch her cheek. "Too bad none of those home remedy hangover cures actually work."

"I feel better now," she assured him, smiling a little, "next time Lois offers me cheap wine, stop me?"

He kissed her forehead. "Count on it."

She placed her hands against his sides and leaned into him a little, "we should grab that coffee and get something to eat after we stop by to see Lois."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her, then nodded. "Sounds good to me. Wonder if any place around here sells maple donuts."

"I don't know, somehow I don't think we'll find a Dunkin Donuts anywhere around here, but maybe we can ask at the hotel." She told him, pulling back after a moment, "I'll go check on the coffee."

He nodded slightly, kissing her cheek and watching her move around him.

She paused and looked over at him, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Fortunately not hungover," he teased her.

Chloe smirked a little at him and shook her head, pouring coffee into a mug and the rest of it into a travel mug that said 'behind every successful woman stands a substantial amount of coffee,' a mug Lois had gotten her years back and apparently, had brought it to Africa with her, "Lois better feel miserable too."

At that he smirked, too. "Somehow I doubt it. She has a higher alcohol tolerance than you do," he teased.

"Oh, I know," Chloe said, putting the same amount of sugar on both coffees and adding some of the creamer she'd found in the fridge, "I learned that the hard way. Besides, it's not fair because she's taller."

Oliver chuckled involuntarily. "I'm not sure that really makes a difference, Chloe."

Chloe couldn't talk for a moment as she drank half of the coffee she had just made for herself, luckily it was just warm enough to allow her to do that, when she finally placed the mug on the counter, she glanced over at him, "she has more room to store her alcohol, it makes perfect sense," she teased.

He grinned at her, moving over to her side and winding his arms around her. "Whatever you say, Professor," he said lightly.

She leaned sideways into him and smiled softly, lifting her head and pressing a kiss to his jaw.

Oliver shut his eyes, tipping his head back a little and then leaning in and kissing her jaw in return. "Thank you," he murmured.

Cocking her head slightly, she looked up at him, "for what?"

"For listening." He leaned his forehead against hers.

She shook her head a little and smiled slightly, "listening isn't nearly as hard as talking, thank you for talking to me."

He brushed his nose against hers then kissed her softly on the mouth, resting one hand on the back of her head.

Chloe lifted a hand to cup his cheek and returned the kiss, leaning into him a little more as she wrapped her other arm around him.

"I love you." He brushed his thumb lightly over the back of her neck.

She smiled softly and leaned in, pressing another kiss to his lips, "I love you too." And she felt like she was never going to get tired of telling him that, considering how long she felt like she had to stop herself from saying the words.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Tamarind Restaurant, Kenya -- March 3, 2011**

Chloe sipped on her _water_ , choosing to stay far away from the wine Lois had ordered this time around. She was feeling fine, but she wanted to be completely sober for when Richard got there. 

“Two more minutes and he’ll be late,” Chloe smirked at Lois as she checked the time on her phone. 

Lois rolled her eyes in response. “He has this uncanny way of arriving _exactly_ on time.” 

Oliver smirked a little and took a sip of his water. 

She frowned a little at that, looking at her cousin and squinting suspiciously, “not in a ‘I was late and sped this way in the very last second and still made it on time,’ right?”

She paused at that, tilting her head to return Chloe’s look. “Not in a ‘I literally just ran all the way from the other side of the country’ way.”

“ _Lois_ ,” Chloe gave her a look, “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Besides, how can I judge him when I generally do the same thing?” 

Pursing her lips together, Chloe glanced at Ollie then leaned back against the chair, “well, if you are sure it’s in a normal way.” She didn’t want her cousin to be stuck with another Clark.

“I’m completely sure,” Lois replied, sitting back in her chair, as well. Then she glanced at Oliver. “And no overprotective big brother stuff from you, Mr. Green.” 

“Sorry, Lo, he’s here to help me with the verdict,” Chloe grinned, looking over at Ollie then back at Lois, “and if needed, he will ask the overprotective type of questions, right Ollie?”

He groaned a little. “His background check came out completely clean and Perry White is a great guy. I’m sure he’s fine,” he said, taking a quick drink. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the middle of Chloe and Lois. 

Chloe’s eyes widened and she stared at Oliver in mock-shock. 

He gave her a helpless shrug and a grin.

“That’s what I thought,” Lois said with satisfaction.

“You betrayed me,” she told him, narrowing her eyes and giving Lois a look, “and since I won’t have back up, I will have to be even harder on Richard.”

Lois narrowed her eyes right back. “That’s okay. Richard’s a reporter. Plus I’m sure he’ll be _utterly_ fascinated by stories of how the two of you wound up together,” she said smugly.

“Oh so now you’re going back to your Inquisitor days and you’re going to interest your boyfriend with stories about Oliver Queen’s romantic life?” Chloe said with a smirk, “I thought I had taught you better than that, Lo.”

She smirked at Chloe. “Oh _I_ am. That doesn’t mean Richard won’t be interested.” 

Oliver shrank back in his chair a little more. 

“Sinking to tabloid levels of gossip, if he’s interested in that kind of thing, I highly doubt he will be a good enough guy,” Chloe told Lois, raising her eyebrows and smirking matter-of-factly. 

“Well, you have to admit, Ollie’s a fascinating guy,” Lois answered with amusement, leaning back in her chair once more and taking a sip of her wine. 

Chloe sat up at that and looked at Lois, “yes, he is, when he’s not being--” but she was cut off when a tall man that, if she had seen him a little further away, she would have been sure he was Clark. His coloring, style and even his posture reminded Chloe of her former best friend instantly and she blinked staring up at him. 

“I hope you haven’t been waiting for long,” Richard said with a smile, nodding at Chloe and Oliver then leaning in and pressing a kiss to Lois’ cheek. 

“You’re right on time,” Lois told him with a smile. “As always.” When he sat beside her, she reached out and took his hand. “This is my cousin Chloe, and this is her boyfriend, Oliver Queen.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Oliver offered, holding his hand out for Richard to shake.

Richard took Oliver’s hand and shook it, “nice to meet you too,” he then held his hand out to Chloe and smiled at her, “I heard a lot about you.”

Chloe took his hand and smiled back at the guy, even if she was still freaked out about how much he looked like Clark, it wasn’t the guy’s fault that her cousin had a type, “I can assure you, only the good things were true.”

Oliver stifled a grin at Chloe’s statement. “At least about Chloe.” 

Lois rolled her eyes. “Yes, because I frequently badmouth my friends behind their backs,” she said wryly.

“Yeah, Ollie,” Chloe agreed, smirking at her cousin, “if Lois has something to say, you should know she’s just gonna say it to your face.”

“Lois had nothing but good things to say about the two of you,” Richard assured them, squeezing Lois’ hand and smiling warmly at her. 

Oliver grinned, relaxing a little and shrugging. “Likewise,” he told the other man. 

Lois smiled, as well, giving Chloe a look.

Chloe met Lois’ gaze and raised her eyebrows a little, impressed by the looks Richard was giving her cousin, like he adored her. Which was _exactly_ how he should be looking at her.

“So what do you think of Kenya so far? Lois mentioned you two were going to do some sight-seeing today?” Richard asked politely.

Oliver smiled and glanced at Chloe before looking back at Richard. “Well, we’re doing most of it tomorrow. We did a little shopping earlier, for some friends back home.” 

Lois picked up her glass and took a drink. “How is Mia?” 

“She’s good,” Chloe told her cousin, “she spent a few days with us in Metropolis, but she had to go back to Star City because of her classes.” 

“I bet she’s looking forward to summer vacation.” 

“Oh, she is. Definitely.” Oliver smirked and glanced at Chloe. 

“Summer vacations are about the only thing I miss from school,” Richard added with a smile.

Chloe sipped on her water and nodded a little, “might be hard on the rest of us to try and keep Mia out of trouble, though.”

“That’s because she spends way too much time around all of us,” Oliver responded with a smirk. 

Lois smirked, too. “My guess is she’ll be as easy to keep out of trouble as Chloe and I are.” 

Richard chuckled and nodded, “I can see where that would be a problem,” he turned to Chloe and Oliver, “Lois told me a couple of stories...” 

Chloe raised her eyebrows at that and shook her head, “let me inform you now that blackmail doesn’t work with us.”

Oliver chuckled softly, reaching out and resting his hand on hers. 

Lois smiled at the gesture, raising an eyebrow at her cousin. “Just a couple of particular stories of weird things that happened in Smallville.” 

She turned her hand in his and locked her fingers with his, but at Lois’ words, she gave her cousin a look, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’ve never been to Smallville, have you?” She asked Oliver innocently, because if Lois had brought up the cheerleading incident, she was going to have to kill her. 

Richard chuckled and looked between the cousins, but remained silent. 

Lois simply smirked at her. 

Oliver rubbed the thumb over the back of Chloe’s hand absently. “I’ve certainly never been to a place called Smallville,” he said lightly. 

“Traitor,” Lois said, narrowing her eyes.

Chloe grinned brightly and squeezed Ollie’s hand, giving her cousin a smug look. 

Richard shook his head a little and turned to Oliver, “are they always like this?”

“Only when they’re in the same room together. Or on the phone with one another.” Oliver chuckled. 

“Or thinking about each other,” Lois added with amusement.

“It can get worse too,” Chloe told Richard, “you don’t wanna be around when we’re actually competing on something,” she finished with a look at her cousin and a mischievous smile.

Richard raised his eyebrows and looked between the three of them, “somehow I think it would be more entertaining and less scary. I’m a big fan of friendly competition.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “So am I, but not when it comes to the two of them. Then it’s time to duck and cover.” 

After a moment’s consideration, Richard nodded at Oliver, “you’ve had more time with them than I have.”

“He’s also one of the world’s biggest trouble-makers,” Lois informed Richard with a smirk. 

“So the articles are true?” Richard asked, turning to look at Oliver once again.

“Not all of them,” Chloe told Richard, raising her eyebrows at him and glancing over at Lois, she knew she trusted the guy, but they had to be careful about what they told people, especially members of the press, regardless if they were sleeping with one of them or not.

“My bed-hopping days are long over,” Oliver said nonchalantly, his grip tightening just a little on Chloe’s hand. 

Lois watched him, a soft smile on her lips. “Good thing, otherwise you and I would have to have a very serious conversation.” 

Chloe glanced at Oliver and smiled softly, giving his hand another squeeze then looking over at her cousin, “pretty sure that won’t be necessary.”

Richard smiled a little and nodded slightly, looking at the couple across from them, “I would hate to be on the receiving end of a conversation like that.”

That was Chloe’s cue and she looked over at Richard, “don’t hurt her and you won’t have to be.” She told him with a smirk.

Oliver couldn’t help but smirk, too. “You did kind of walk into that,” he commented.

“It was completely expected,” Richard said with a slightly awkward grin, then turned to Chloe, “but I assure you it won’t be necessary.” 

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she told him, smiling sweetly.

Lois smiled, secretly enjoying her cousin’s over-protectiveness because she knew if the situation was reversed, she’d be doing the exact same thing. “Well, who’s hungry?” she asked brightly, grabbing a menu. 

“I could eat,” Oliver said with a nod, picking up his own menu.

“Food sounds good,” Richard said, opening his menu and looking down at it.

Chloe opened her menu too but looked over at her cousin, smiling at her once she met her eyes and giving her a soft nod, so far, despite his physical similarities with Clark, Richard seemed like a good guy and Chloe knew from what her cousin had told her that he’d been asking for a date long before Lois ever accepted one, if he was that persistent, at least it seemed like he was really interested.

“What’s good to eat here?” Oliver asked, glancing between Lois and Richard curiously. 

“The seafood is all fresh,” Richard assured Oliver, glancing up from his menu over at him, “so if you like that, I’d suggest you go with it.” 

“Seafood sounds good,” he said with a nod, glancing at Chloe sideways with a small smile, knowing how much AC would _not_ approve.

Chloe glanced back at Oliver, a secret smile on her lips and she nodded a little, thinking along the same lines, “yeah, should have it when we can,” she paused, “get it fresh, I mean.”

Oliver grinned at her, nodding a little. 

Lois smirked, taking a drink of her wine. “Seafood platter all around.” 

Richard smiled a little then motioned for the waiter and leaned back against his seat, pulling his hand from Lois’ and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

* * * 

**Hotel room, Kenya -- March 3, 2011**

Oliver undid his tie and the top button of his dress shirt, flopping down on their queen sized bed in the hotel and closing his eyes. “I ate _way_ too much.” 

“Me too,” Chloe agreed, sliding off of her shoes and not even hesitating before crawling into bed next to him. She knew it was a mistake because she was going to get up and change eventually, but it looked so very comfortable at the moment.

“They were right. That seafood was incredible. Which means we can never tell AC about the place or we can never go there again.” He smiled.

“Never telling him it is,” she said lazily, turning on her side so she was facing him, “now can we talk about how freakishly like Clark Richard looks?” Chloe said, raising her eyebrows, Lois and Richard had walked back to the hotel with them since it was on the way to Lois’ apartment, and Chloe was dying to make sure it wasn’t all in her head.

He grimaced. “Only if you’re going to pass the brain bleach immediately after said conversation.” 

“I have to live with the mental images, so do you, it’s what couples do,” she told him, smiling sweetly, “besides, I don’t even think Lois realizes it, she made no mention of it, I think she really just has a type. You being the exception.”

Oliver flung an arm over his eyes. He was really going to have to make sure Chloe had more girl friends to do the girl-talk thing with. “Do you have a type with me as the exception?” he teased. 

“Fine, you’re not interested,” she said with a mock pout, turning to lay on her back, “but because of that, I won’t tell you about my type.”

He smirked at that. “Fine, fine. He looked freakishly like Clark. And no. I don’t think she even realizes it.” 

Chloe squinted suspiciously at him, “you’re just agreeing with me so I will tell you.”

“No, I’m agreeing with you because I agree with you.” He turned his head to look at her, amusement glittering in his eyes. “Lois does have a type and it happens to be about 6’4” with brown hair and blue eyes.” 

She couldn’t help but smirk slowly at him, mostly because of the look on his face and slowly, she turned on her side to face him again, “that’s much better.”

He smirked a bit more, turning on his side to face her, as well. “Only because I agreed with you.” 

“That’s a bonus,” she told him, smiling as she shifted a little closer.

“Because you like being right,” he teased.

“Please, like you can talk,” Chloe said with a grin and leaned even closer, brushing her nose against his.

“I’ve been told I’m rather good at talking.” He grinned back at her, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Oh yeah?” She smirked, raising her eyebrows, “I happen to know your mouth is even better for _other_ things.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow in return, shifting closer to her and resting a hand on her cheek. “Glad you think so,” he murmured. “Should I prepare to back up your compliments?” 

“Only if you’re prepared to let me reciprocate,” she told him, licking her lips slowly.

He groaned a little. “When do I ever _not_ let you?” he teased. 

Chloe laughed softly and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer, “I’m just making sure we’re both clear on the plans for the evening.”

“Crystal,” he responded, kissing her as he shifted closer, grimacing when he rolled onto the TV remote and the TV flashed on. “But somehow I don’t think we need that as a distraction.” He shifted again, picking up the remote and pausing as he glanced at the screen.

She paused when he did, frowning a little and glancing at the TV too when something caught her attention, more specifically the phrase, “Star City’s vigilante is back.”

“How’s that even possible?” Oliver sat up slowly. 

“A man claims he was rescued from two muggers last night by a figure who wielded a bow and arrow, shooting the perps through their hands.” 

Oliver stared at the screen in disbelief. 

Chloe stared at the TV too, sitting up also and glancing at Oliver carefully as the answer to his question popped into her head, but she didn’t want to say it out loud.

His jaw tightened ever-so-slightly. “Mia,” he whispered.

And it looked like she wasn’t going to have to, “you really think she would?” Chloe asked even if she already knew the answer for that question too.

Oliver turned his head to look at her. “We need to go back to Star City.” 

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded, standing up a second later, “give your pilot a call, I will start packing.”

He rose to his feet, nodding silently and pulling out his phone. 

Mia was in big, big trouble.


End file.
